Saturday, May 7, 2011

Discipline is Not a Dirty Word

One of my top 10 favorite movies is The Last Samurai. I watched it last week (for like the 30th time!). There's a scene in the movie where Tom Cruise's character starts talking about the Samurai. Here's what he says...

“From the moment they wake, they devote themselves to the perfection of whatever they pursue…I have never seen such discipline.”

Every time I watch this movie, I’m always struck by that line.

I start to think about my own life, and my lack of discipline, and wonder…what if?

What if I woke up each day with that kind of devotion towards my relationship with God? Completely putting away yesterday and tomorrow and just focusing on TODAY.

Some nights when go to sleep, I have this moment of clarity. As I lay there in the dark, I look back on what I did that day, and sometimes recognize that I didn’t really do much of anything that matters.

I spend so many of my days worrying about and longing for what’s coming…or dwelling on and regretting the past…what about today? I want to let those things go, and give God my focus NOW.

What can I learn today?How can I do to grow in my knowledge of God today?Who can I serve today?

I don’t want to live my life on auto-pilot. You know what I mean. Those days you wake up and start going through the motions of life. You’re just doing what you normally do, without even thinking about it, and before you know it, it’s 3:30, and you haven’t really put forth much effort.

I want to be AWAKE and ALIVE for every second of the day. I want to be OPEN and ready to SEE and HEAR…

I’m really trying to have that attitude today as I’m anxiously waiting for my Spanish Visa. Instead of worrying about how long it’s taking, or dwelling on the fact that I want to be in Ibiza like YESTERDAY, I want to focus on God here in Las Vegas in this moment. What can I still do while I’m here?